The short answer from any HPCA Stadium pitch report is that this is a batting ground with a sting in the first few overs. The surface is hard and true, the ball flies in the thin mountain air, and in IPL cricket 200 has become the starting point. Every side that batted first in an IPL game here in 2026 got there.
The sting is the new ball. Seamers find bounce and some movement early, especially on cool evenings, and a top order that loses three wickets in the powerplay can still be dragged well below par. In white-ball cricket, spinners matter less here than at most Indian venues.
The rest of this Dharamsala pitch report goes format by format, T20s first and then ODIs and Tests, before the records and the mountain weather that can turn a game. All figures run to the end of IPL 2026.
Quick verdict
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Batting or bowling? | Batting, once the new ball has been seen off |
| Pace or spin? | In T20s, pace: early seam movement and true bounce; spin is mostly a holding option |
| Par IPL first-innings score | Often 200-plus in recent seasons; the long-run average is about 195 |
| Toss | Every toss winner here in IPL 2026 chose to bowl, though batting first has won more IPL games overall |
| Boundaries | Clearing the rope is easier than at most Indian grounds because the ball carries |
The results are less one-sided than the captains' habit suggests. Until May 2026, no IPL side had chased down a 200-plus target at this ground. Then two did it in the same week. For the general case for and against bowling first, our guide on whether winning the toss really matters goes through the evidence.
The ground at a glance
The Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium opened in 2003 and is run by the HPCA. It sits in Dharamshala (often spelled Dharamsala) in Kangra district, with the snow-capped Dhauladhar range rising behind it.
- Capacity: a little over 20,000. Published figures vary.
- Home teams: Himachal Pradesh in domestic cricket, and Punjab Kings, who played IPL games here in the early 2010s and have brought matches back every season since 2023.
- Ends: River End and College End.
- Altitude: more than 1,300 metres above sea level. Sources quote figures between about 1,317 and 1,457 metres.
- International cricket: ODIs since 2013, a first Test in 2017 against Australia, and matches at the 2016 World T20 and the 2023 ODI World Cup.
In 2024 the HPCA also installed India's first SISGrass hybrid surfaces, natural grass stitched with a small share of synthetic fibre. Those were put in for practice, not for the match square, so they don't change how a game here plays.
HPCA Stadium IPL pitch report: how T20 games play
The match pitch is hard and gives even, consistent bounce. Batters can trust the ball to come on to the bat, which is the opposite of the grip-and-wait cricket you get at slower venues such as Lucknow's Ekana Stadium. Add the altitude, and shots that would be caught in the deep elsewhere keep travelling.
A typical innings has two phases. In the powerplay, seamers who hit a good length get movement off the surface and in the air, and play-and-misses are common. Once the ball softens after the fielding restrictions end, scoring speeds up sharply. The death overs are hard work for bowlers because there is so little margin for error on length.
Spinners are mainly there to control the middle overs rather than to run through a side. On this surface they rarely get the sharp turn that makes them wicket-takers on the plains.
IPL 2026 at Dharamsala
The ground hosted three Punjab Kings home games and Qualifier 1 in IPL 2026:
| Date | Match | First innings | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 May | PBKS v DC | PBKS 210/5 | DC won by 3 wickets (216/7 in 19 overs) |
| 14 May | PBKS v MI | PBKS 200/8 | MI won by 6 wickets (205/4 in 19.5 overs) |
| 17 May | PBKS v RCB | RCB 222/4 | RCB won by 23 runs |
| 26 May | RCB v GT, Qualifier 1 | RCB 254/5 | RCB won by 92 runs |
Two patterns stand out. First, 200 was the floor rather than the target. Second, Delhi Capitals' chase on 11 May was the first time an IPL side had chased down 200-plus at this ground, and Mumbai Indians did it again three days later. Big chases at altitude are now proven possible, especially once the ball stops moving.
It was a bad season for the nominal hosts: Punjab Kings lost all three of their games here.
Over the ground's whole IPL history, the record still leans towards batting first. By our count, the side batting first won 11 of the 18 completed IPL matches here as of the end of IPL 2026.
ODIs and Tests at the HPCA Stadium
The 50-over game shows both sides of the ground.
At the 2023 World Cup, Australia made 388 and New Zealand replied with 383/9. The 771 runs in that game are the highest match aggregate at a men's World Cup. Earlier in the same tournament, the Netherlands beat South Africa by 38 runs here in a game cut to 43 overs a side after a rain delay of almost two hours.
The other side showed up in December 2017, when Sri Lanka bowled India out for 112. Suranga Lakmal took 4/13, India were 29/7 at one stage, and MS Dhoni's 65 spared them something worse. In December conditions, the new ball did most of the damage.
The ground's most recent Test, against England in March 2024, belonged to spin despite pre-match talk of cold weather and extra seamers. India made 477 and won by an innings and 64 runs inside three days. R Ashwin took nine wickets in his 100th Test, including 5/77 in the second innings, and Kuldeep Yadav took seven, so the two spinners shared 16 of England's 20 wickets. James Anderson reached 700 Test wickets in the same match.
HPCA Stadium pitch report: scores and records
| Record (as of the end of IPL 2026) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Highest IPL total | 254/5, RCB v GT, Qualifier 1, 2026 |
| Previous IPL best | 241/7, RCB v PBKS, 2024 |
| Lowest IPL total | 116 |
| Average IPL first-innings score | about 195 |
| Highest men's World Cup match aggregate | 771 runs: Australia 388 v New Zealand 383/9, 2023 |
| Notable ODI collapse | India 112 v Sri Lanka, 2017 |
Before the 2024 season the average sat at about 180. Every 2026 first-innings total was above both figures.
Conditions: altitude, cool evenings, rain and dew
Altitude. At more than 1,300 metres the air is thinner, so the ball travels further off the bat and moves faster through the air. The first effect helps batters; the second gives fast bowlers a little extra.
Temperature. Even in May, evenings in the hills are cooler than on the plains, and that helps the new ball swing. Winter internationals are a different game altogether. In December 2025, India bowled South Africa out for 117 in a T20I here and knocked off the runs inside 16 overs.
Rain. Mountain weather changes quickly. Rain shortened the 2023 Netherlands v South Africa game, and the India v Afghanistan ODI in June 2026 was cut to 25 overs a side. Check the forecast close to the start, not the night before.
Dew. Night games can bring dew in the second innings, which makes the ball harder for bowlers to grip. That is part of why captains like to chase here.
Reading a Dharamsala match with CricGuru
Four inputs drive the AI win probability on every CricGuru match page: recent form, head-to-head record, league-table strength (points per game) and a small home advantage. An AI-written preview sits alongside the number. Nothing about the pitch, the venue, the weather or the toss goes into it.
That matters at Dharamsala. The home-advantage factor is the same small boost wherever a team is listed as the host. It doesn't know that Punjab Kings only visit a few times a season, or that they lost all three games here in 2026. It doesn't know that 200 is par, either.
So use the two together. Sign in, find the game on CricGuru's live and upcoming matches page and request its AI prediction from the match page; a free account comes with a few trial predictions, and paid plans add a daily allowance. Then add this report on top. Which side has the better new-ball attack? Who has the hitters to chase 200-plus? Is rain or dew likely? For notes on every other ground, see our IPL pitch reports for all venues.
FAQ
Does the HPCA Stadium favour batting or bowling?
Batting, for most of a T20 innings. The pitch is hard with true bounce and the altitude helps the ball carry, so first-innings totals above 200 have become normal in the IPL. Bowlers get their best chance in the powerplay, when seamers can find movement.
Does the Dharamsala pitch help pace or spin?
In T20 cricket, pace. Seamers get bounce and early movement, especially on cool evenings, and spinners mostly contain in the middle overs. Test cricket is different: the March 2024 Test was won by India's spinners, who took most of England's wickets.
What is a good first-innings score at Dharamsala in the IPL?
Over the ground's IPL history the average first-innings total is about 195. In IPL 2026 every side batting first made 200 or more, and two of those totals were still chased down, so 220 or more is a safer target.
Why does the ball fly so far at the HPCA Stadium?
The ground is more than 1,300 metres above sea level. Thinner air means less drag, so well-struck shots, and some mistimed ones, carry further than at grounds on the plains such as Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Which IPL team plays at the HPCA Stadium?
Punjab Kings use Dharamsala as a second home and have played games here every season since 2023. In 2026 the ground also staged Qualifier 1, in which RCB made 254/5, the highest IPL total recorded here and the highest total in IPL playoff history.
The bottom line
Dharamsala rewards the side that survives the new ball and then attacks. With wickets in hand, 200 is within reach for most IPL batting line-ups. Lose them early, and the same pace and bounce that help the batters give the seamers a way back into the game.